The following question was recently submitted to me:
1 Corinthians 13:5 (NASB 1995) says love “does not take into account a wrong suffered.” Does that mean we say nothing about wrongs done to us? If so, why did Paul warn Timothy about Alexander the Coppersmith and say, “The Lord will repay him according to his deeds” (2 Tim. 4:14 NASB 1995)?
The phrase “does not take into account” (ou logizomai) is bookkeeping language. It means to credit something to an account, to enter it on a ledger. Paul uses this same word throughout Romans 4 for God “crediting” righteousness to Abraham, in 2 Corinthians 5:19 for God “not counting people’s trespasses against them,” and in 2 Timothy 4:16 for his prayer that the desertion of his friends “not be counted against them.” So in 1 Corinthians 13:5, Paul is saying love doesn’t keep record of an offense for the purpose of personal debt collection.
Love doesn’t keep record of an offense for the purpose of personal debt collection.
But we need to be precise. This bookkeeping language describes one specific facet of how love handles wrongdoing, not the totality of love’s response. Love’s response has at least three components.
First, love releases the right to personal vengeance and entrusts justice to God (cf. 1 Pet. 2:23). As Paul says, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God” (Rom. 12:19). Love’s internal posture is not looking to “get even,” but preparing to cancel the debt.
Love releases the right to personal vengeance and entrusts justice to God.
Second, love pursues reconciliation. Jesus lays out the process in Luke 17:3-4 and Matthew 18:15-17: personal conversation → witnessed conversation → church appeal → ultimately excommunication, if necessary. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul doesn’t forgive the unrepentant man; he hands him over to Satan. Escalating pursuit is not a failure to love. It is love in action.
Third, when repentance comes, love removes the offense from the ledger and acts consistently with that removal. When the man of 1 Corinthians 5 repented, Paul urged the church to forgive, comfort, and reaffirm their love for him (2 Cor. 2:8). Love’s non-reckoning posture was operative throughout—the church wasn’t keeping score for retribution—but the full act of forgiveness required repentance.
Regarding Alexander the coppersmith: First, he wasn’t a believer; he opposed the gospel. Second, note what Paul says: He warns Timothy to be on guard. That’s pastoral wisdom, not vengeance. He says “the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.” That’s releasing the matter to God’s justice. This fits Paul’s pattern in dealing with the enemies of the gospel. He pronounces anathema on those who preach a different gospel (Gal. 1:8-9) or who do not love the Lord (1 Cor. 16:22). These aren’t expressions of personal vengeance. They’re a recognition that those who oppose the gospel and refuse repentance stand under God’s righteous judgment.
Is this incompatible with love? No. God himself holds both realities simultaneously: He is genuinely ready to forgive all who repent, and genuinely resolved to execute justice on those who refuse. Paul can desire Alexander’s just recompense and still be a man whose love doesn’t reckon evil, because he has handed the debt collection to God. (This is my understanding of Revelation 6:10 as well.)
I do think we should remember Paul’s caveats in Romans 12:18: “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” There are times when the other person won’t respond, making reconciliation impossible. In those cases, love has done what it can. The debt has been handed to God. But the external completion of forgiveness awaits an access we don’t have.
The bottom line: love does not file the offense away for personal collection on the debt. It entrusts justice to God, pursues reconciliation where possible, and stands ready to cancel the debt when repentance comes. This is forgiveness patterned after the way God Himself handles sin.
This was especially pertinent in Corinth, where people were keeping score: dividing over which leader was best (1 Cor. 1-4) and dragging each other into court over personal grievances (chpt. 6). Love doesn’t keep score; love releases debts and reconciles debtors.
Republished from God’s Revivalist. Used by permission.
